Use of alternative fuels in the Polish cement industry

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Use of alternative fuels in the Polish cement industry
Eugeniusz Mokrzycki 1, Alicja Uliasz-Bocheńczyk 1, Mieczysław Sarna 2
1 Mineral and Energy Economy Research Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences,
Wybickiego 7 Str, 30-950 Kraków 65, PO Box 49,
2 Poland Lafarge Cement Polska S.A. Warszawska 110 Str, 28-366 Małogoszcz, Poland
Abstract
Alternative fuels are made up of mixtures of different wastes, such as industrial, municipal and
hazardous wastes. These fuels need to have an appropriate chemical energy content which depends on
the type of components and their organic content. An industry that is particularly well suited to the
employment of alternative fuels is the cement industry. There are a number of factors that promote the
use of alternative fuels in cement kilns. Of these factors, the most notable are: the high temperatures
developed, the appropriate kiln length, the long period of time the fuel stays inside the kiln and the
alkaline environment inside the kiln. There are a number of countries that use their own alternative
fuels in cement plants. These fuels have different trade names and they differ in the amounts and the
quality of the selected municipal and industrial waste fractions used. The fuels used should fall within
the extreme values of parameters such as: minimum heating value, maximum humidity content, and
maximum content of heavy and toxic metals. Cement plants in Poland also use alternative fuels.
Within the Lafarge Group, the cement plants owned by Lafarge Poland Ltd. have initiated activities
directed at promoting the wider use of alternative fuels. There are a number of wastes that can be
incinerated as fuel in cement plants. Some that can be mentioned are: selected combustible fractions of
municipal wastes, liquid crude-oil derived wastes, car tyres, waste products derived from paint and
varnish production, expired medicines from the pharmaceutical industry and others. The experience
gained by the cement plants of Lafarge Cement Poland Ltd confirms that such activities are
economically and ecologically beneficial. The incineration of alternative fuels in cement plants is a
safe method for the utilisation of waste that is ecologically friendly and profitable for the industrial
plants and society alike.
© 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. Ali rights reserved.
Keywords: Alternative fuel; Municipal and industrial waste; Cement plants

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